Fatherless America: Confronting Our Most Urgent Social Problem [Paperback]

David Blankenhorn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 1996

A compelling and controversial exploration of absentee fathers and their impact on the nation.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"The most urgent domestic challenge facing the United States...is the re-creation of fatherhood as a vital social role for men," says Blankenhorn, founder and president of the Institute for American Values, a private New York City research organization. His compelling presentation of the "culture of fatherlessness" describes more than the physical absence of a father from the family; what is most troubling, he maintains, is the growing belief that fatherhood is an unnecessary function. The author examines various demographics of fatherlessness and presents his recommendations for rediscovering the goal of "a father for every child," cautioning that unless the trend of fatherlessness is reversed, the "decline of child well-being and the spread of male violence" will not be arrested. Although this and others of his conclusions are arguable, Blankenhorn provides much worthy fodder for debate.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Fatherlessness has been a hot-button issue since 1992, when Vice President Dan Quayle lambasted TV's Murphy Brown for "mocking the importance of fathers." This book sets the tone for further debate on the issue. Blankenhorn, chair of the National Fatherhood Initiative and founder/president of the Institute for American Values, criticizes the growth in the number of fatherless families and the development of a culture of fatherlessness. Detailing how the social role of fathers has been diminished and devalued, he theorizes that devalued fatherhood has led to higher incidences of crime, domestic violence, child sexual abuse, and child poverty. He then critiques eight predominant father roles in contemporary American society. Blankenhorn calls for a revival of the "good family man," offering 12 proposals to reinvigorate the role of fatherhood. Copius notes append the text. A valuable resource for social planners and the general public.
Michael A. Lutes, Univ. of Notre Dame Lib., Ind.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial (January 5, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006092683X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060926830
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #478,960 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Necessary Antidote to Liberal Male-Bashing, May 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Fatherless America: Confronting Our Most Urgent Social Problem (Paperback)

I am aware that you discourage people from commenting on other reviews, but I think that the following comment is needed nevertheless. A previously posted hostile review said "Just where does David Blankenhorn get off telling mothers that they're not good enough for their kids!!!???? It looks as if David here is stuck in a time warp and the people that believe this piece of trash are too. So...almost half of kids grow up with single moms. I think it's swell that women today have more choices than ever before." This reviewer clearly doesn't grasp the message of the book. First, Blankenhorn isn't saying that mothers aren't good enough for their kids. On the contrary, a careful reading of the book reveals that he believes that good mothers are just as necessary as fathers. He is not denigrating mothers. He is simply saying that neither mother nor father possesses the resources to give a child everything that the child needs. Parenting was meant to be a cooperative effort between a team consisting of husband and wife, each of whom brings unique personal qualities (some of which are gender-related) to the endeavor. It's not sexist to argue that this is the case; on the contrary, it is extremely sexist to argue that women are the only parents who are essential to healthy childhood development. As for the argument that those who agree with the author are in a "time warp," this is nothing but an unintelligent ad hominem attack designed to divert attention from the legitimate substance of the book. Just because one is dismayed by the increasing number of fatherless children, and the undeniably negative effects of that phenomenon on society, it does not make one a Luddite who wishes to return to the past. Responsible people understand that the only way to ensure genuine human progress is to constantly engage in the process of self-evaluation, both as individuals and as members of a larger society. Refusing to acknowledge mistakes which have been made in the recent past is not the path to genuine progress. One last comment: When I read Blankenhorn's description of the negative effects of childlessness, I saw my own story in the book. My Dad, who just died a month ago, divorced my mother when I was a sophomore in high school. He paid the child support payments required by law, but he apparently felt justified in reneging on an earlier promise to finance my college education, mostly because I criticized him for having engaged in the adulterous affair which led to my parents' divorce. As a result of my father's subsequent unwillingness to finance my education (even though, as a successful optometrist, he was more than capable of doing so), I have spent many years struggling financially, in jobs which were only peripherally related to my real interests. My mother loved me, and did the best she could, but the bottom line is that I needed a mom AND a dad, not just for economic reasons, but for a variety of other reasons as well. Instead, I got a mother, and an absentee father who, in terms of adequately preparing me for future life as an adult, might as well have died many years ago. Yeah, that's just "swell." The reviewer refers to the mother's choices. What about the kids' choices? Most of the children affected by the modern disintegration of fatherhood have no choice at all but to suffer the ill effects of that disintegration. Unfortunately, a lot of modern parents today are in a state of arrested development, and they think only of their own needs, not the needs of their children. This is not a sob story. My point is that Blankenhorn's assessment of our current crisis is totally correct. It's time for us, as a society, to admit that the Playboy philosophy, which essentially denies that masculinity has anything to do with parental responsibility, is morally and intellectually bankrupt. We will experience tragic episodes such as the recent massacre at Littleton, CO with increasing frequency unless and until we begin to reverse the decline of the American family.

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The truth about fathers, February 5, 2005

By 

William Muehlenberg (Melbourne Australia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Fatherless America: Confronting Our Most Urgent Social Problem (Paperback)

The breakdown of families, especially in terms of the disappearance of marriage and the collapse of fatherhood, has been carefully studied by a number of authors. One of the most incisive examinations of the problem of fatherless families is Fatherless America.

The book is based on a wealth of statistical information, highlighting the dangerous trend of family disintegration in America. Perhaps most disturbing of the information he uncovers is the fact that "tonight, about 40 per cent of American children will go to sleep in homes in which their fathers do not live". "Fatherlessness," argues Blankenhorn, "is the most harmful demographic trend of this generation". The primary results of this trend are "a decline in children's well-being and a rise in male violence, especially against women."

The problem is not just that of the absence of fathers, but "the absence of our belief in fathers." Recalling the findings of Margaret Mead and others that the supreme test of any civilisation is whether it can socialise men by teaching them to be fathers, Blankenhorn traces the disappearance of the idea of fatherhood in contemporary culture, and the effects this has on our children and our society

While he acknowledges that the so-called traditional family was not without problems, he sees the move to a fatherless society as a far greater dilemma. As fatherhood becomes devalued, decultured and deinstitutionalised, the problems associated with inner city America will only compound themselves. We now know without question that the overwhelming generator of violence among young men is the fatherless family. There are now a multitude of studies available which make it perfectly clear that fatherlessness is the major factor in crime, more than race, poverty or any other social variable.

Paternal absenteeism and the erosion of marriage effect every aspect of life. For example, we now know, contrary to feminist doctrine, that domestic violence is much more likely to occur in homes where the partners are not married. A woman is much more likely to abused by a boyfriend, a de facto or a live in than by a husband. The same is true of child sexual abuse. "What magnifies the risk of sexual abuse in children is not the presence of a married father but his absence." Again, a host of studies have clearly established this point.

With all these studies confirming the importance of marriage and the presence of fathers, one would hope that our political leaders would be reaffirming our national commitment to marriage. The opposite is the case unfortunately. American society is not intent on making sure marriage works, nor is it intent on making divorce less easy to obtain. Instead, it is in the process of deinstitutionalising marriage and fatherhood. It has become a culture of divorce. Instead of trying to reduce divorce, it seeks to make the process more cooperative and amicable. Divorce reform means simply trying to involve fewer lawyers and more mediators. This may be better than conflict and litigation, but it does not deal with the real problem.

When anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski said that "the father is indispensable for the full sociological status of the child as well as of its mother," he was stating a truth that is both simple and profound. Yet we live in a day where simplicity is spurned and profundity is not grasped. As C.S. Lewis once said, "The process of living seems to consist in coming to realise truths so ancient and simple that, if stated, they sound like barren platitudes."

That children need mother and father, and that healthy families are a prerequisite for healthy societies, have been historical givens. Such claims now however are regarded with disbelief. The case for fatherhood and marriage needs to be remade for a sceptical age. Blankenhorn's book is a valuable component in that argument.

27 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A stunning look at the destruction of the American family, July 13, 2002

By 

Rocco B. Rubino "Rocco R." (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Fatherless America: Confronting Our Most Urgent Social Problem (Paperback)

We have no shortage of fathers, in the pro-creative, biological/physiological sense of the word. What is missing in our society is the institution of "fatherhood;" the process whereby the patriarch of the family takes his rightful place in the family as leader, provider, protector, and nurturer.

Feminists will hate this book because Blankenhorn uses scientific study, statistics,logic, and, at times, rhetoric and polemics to conclusively state that the absence of true fathers is indeed the "most urgent social problem of our kind."

Whether unwittingly, or by design, feminists have played a big part in destroying this sacred institution; their call for the "rights" of women did not stop there. There has been a full-scale diminution of fatherhood, to the detriment of all involved, and, ultimately, society.

This jeremiad is a must read for anyone, i.e. parents, teachers, ministers, social-workers, and counselors, who are concerned about the state of our youth today. Blankenship proves that without a father, all is chaos in the family.

A truly dynamic and passionate book. I cannot believe that there has not been any noticeable public acclaim for this book,but then again I should not be surprised given the antipathy with which academia, the media, and the various and sundry other members of the literati, view the "traditional family."

We see how women and children suffer. Where's the outrage?